Boris and Ken in statistical dead heat as polls turn sour for Tories

Boris Johnson's lead over Ken Livingstone is slim enough for the Labour candidate to pull off a surprise victory on Thursday, a new poll suggests.

The poll comes amid dangerously poor results for the Conservatives, which show Ukip could do major damage to the governing party during this week's local elections.

The latest YouGov poll for the Standard puts Boris on 44% to Ken's 41%, with Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick on six per cent. Once second preference votes are allocated, Boris leads by four per cent on 52% to Ken's 48%.

The margin is slim enough to constitute a statistical dead heat. Both camps are likely to welcome the result as a motivator to get their supporters to the polling stations on Thursday.